How to Install SteamOS

Everything you need to know before installing Steam OS

Valve recently released its Beta version of SteamOS, based on the Debian distro of Linux. Naturally, we were intrigued by its release and wanted to take the new OS for a test run. We’ve put together a guide on how to install the operating system, and also provide you with our hands-on impressions of Valve's software.

NOTE: Before beginning, we highly recommend that you back up everything on your system before attempting to install SteamOS, as the installer in this guide will erase your entire drive.

System Requirements:

To get started, you’ll need to make sure that your rig meets the minimum hardware requirements: Intel or AMD processor, 4GB of RAM or more, a 500GB hard drive or larger, Nvidia video card (Valve states AMD and Intel graphics support are coming soon), UEFI boot support, a USB port for installation, and a 4GB flash drive or larger.

How to Install SteamOS instructions:

Step 1: Format your flash drive to FAT32

Plug in your flash drive and format it to FAT32. To do this, right click on the USB drive in My Computer and select format. Then change the file system from NTFS to FAT32 (if it isn’t already FAT32). Then click format to freshly wipe your flash drive.

Right click on the SteamOSInstaller.zip you just downloaded and extract it to your flash drive. We used the free 7-Zip software to do this. Do not click on or open the flash drive to view its contents after the unzipping is complete, as this will mess up your extraction, and you won’t be able to boot from the key after that.

Step 4: Reboot your system and boot from your flash drive

Reboot your system and press F8, F10, or F12 to get to your Boot Menu and select your flash drive as your Boot Device. Make sure the Boot Option says UEFI and then the name of your flash drive, for example, UEFI SanDisk Cruzer.

Step 5: Run the automated installer

You will then boot into a black screen with a purple Steam logo. This screen will have a list of three options, which include Automated Install WILL ERASE DISK!!!, Expert Install, and Rescue Mode. Select Automated Install WILL ERASE DISK!!! by pressing enter and the OS will start installing onto your hard disk. You will then see a white and purple installation screen for about 10-15 minutes, as it installs a fresh copy of SteamOS onto your machine.

Step 6: Remove your installation device

After the OS finishes installing you’ll be prompted to reboot your system and to remove your installation device.

Step 7: Select SteamOS Linux GNU/I

The OS will boot up and have you choose between two options: SteamOS GNU/Linux, with Linux 3.10-3-amd64 and SteamOS GNU Linux, with Linux 3.10-3-amd64 (recovery mode). Make sure the first option is selected and then hit enter to start the boot up process.

Step 8: Log into SteamOS

You’ll then see a login screen. To login use "steam" as both your password and username.

Step 9: Launch the terminal application to install Steam

Now that you’re at the desktop the last step is to launch the terminal application to install Steam. Go to the top left corner of the OS and click on Activities and then click on the Applications tab. Once the terminal is launched, type in steam and then hit enter to start the installation process. (You will need an internet connection for this installation setup to work)

Step 10: You can now start gaming

After the installer is finished running, you can login into your Steam account and start playing games.

The future is coming fast. Seriously. As Windows gets worse and worse as a gaming platform and Steam gets better and better, it would not surprise me to see Steam supplant Windows itself as the PC gaming platform of choice (eventually). They just need to work out the bugs, start adding features, and DRASTICALLY increase compatibility.

It wouldn't surprise me if they do something like release the next Half-Life on Steam OS FIRST to get the hobbyists and hardcore gamers to try it...ya know... when it's ready read for prime-time and not in Beta.

That would be interesting, making a game exclusively for mid-grade PC hardware, a departure from what the did for Half Life 2, where they dumbed it down so far that it would not only run on the inferior-than-PC xbox 360 but also on the pitifully-inferior Xbox.

Even though SteamOS is not ready for prime time it is encouraging to know that an operating system dedicated to PC gaming in under development. I am sure that it will gain more support and get better in time. Competition in a market place can create a better outcome for consumers. Also, this gives Microsoft notice to get it together or their control over the masses may slip away because of the choices they have made with the direction of Windows. I truly hope that all my Steam games will be playable for as long as I want to play them instead of losing some of them every time Microsoft releases a new OS and consoles will be keep in their place because PC gaming rules as far as I am concerned.

SteamOS and CromeOS are similar in that they function by removing things from the operating system rather than adding anything to them. I guess it will be a more simplified install and less maintenance but at what cost? Valve will probably be responsible for the drivers and that could be a major issue (as seen in these test rigs). However, I do not think that SteamOS is meant to play on anything but a TV so this article may be an unfair test of the OS.

My son rolls Steam on Ubuntu and most of the games (that are supported in Linux that is) works fine.

...actually, only a small handful of games work on SteamOS and they look completely inferior to Steam version in Windows. Why? Because SteamOS for all of it's supposed advantages, lacks all of the key ingredients for games to look their best - APIs. SteamOS does not support DirectX or Hardware Tesselation. Which means all of the advanced graphics options that make PC gaming stand out from gaming consoles are gone. No thanks! I'll stick to my Steam program through my Windows 8.1 Pro installs on all three of my gaming systems. Zero problems and every game looks amazing at 2560 x 1440 resolution will all the eye candy maxed. The same games on SteamOS look like watered down mush in comparison :P

I think this is just the baseline that they will be building onto, though. Heck, Steam itself isn't even included with the download. The in-ihome streaming hasn't even been demoed yet and I'm willing to bet they'll go so far as donating code to the OSS AMD drivers and Linux kernel (they already have somewhat) so that there will be more and better hardware choices for those who use SteamOS.

By the way on board audio works just fine. I don't know your exact system specs, other then graphics card being 680, but I was able to get audio with my onboard sound card.
I have Sabertooth Z77 motherboard with latest bios. I assume that if you don't use the same chipset that steam used in their prototypes, like Z77 (I haven't tried it on any other chipsets), you will have a hard time installing and/or getting your drivers working, other then USB 2.0 and Nvidia drivers that is.
Other then Source based games I had hard time trying to setup Metro: Last Light graphic settings. On SteamOS debian it only had a bar named Quality. And game worked only at native resolution. Then I tried to configure it in .cfg file but there was no notepad like program on Debian. And I've learned that I needed some workframe packages to get one working, that's where I stopped messing around anymore...
+ I think there is more to install than that, since it shouldn't get you to debian, It should be Steam Big Picture opening.

This is just a theory, but Z77 Chipsets have different audio codecs,
Sabertooth Z77 and MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming motherboards have Realtek ALC892 codecs. And each codec requires a specific driver to run not like the bundled codecs we get in windows. Just like John Pombrio says they remove the extra features from these OS to increase performance.
So it might support some codecs while ignoring others. Weirdly enough though steam machine tear downs showed that they used Asrock Z87E-ITX boards which uses Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec. Maybe they though about using a mother board which had some of 800 series codecs and when the 4th gen came out they forgot to remove the drivers for all of those codecs?
All I got is a theory at the moment because it's weird. It's definitely not like in windows, where you get 1 driver bundle that can run all codecs and devices.

But that's just the problem, Captain. If it's not an OS for the majority, then it's already failed. Linux has been around since the 90's. It's found it's home in consumer electronics as well as business/corporate/enterprise servers. But it's never been able to obtain a significant hold on the desktop. I've tried Linux several times through the years and have always encountered issues with it when it comes to gaming. On my laptop I still have it as a quick boot to get in and browse the web and check email. But when it's time to game or do serious productivity, I boot into Windows. I will keep my fingers crossed for Valve with SteamOS but we've been down this road before with WineX and Cedega/Transgaming etc. And Valve's implementation is to run linux native games off the box but if you want to play a non linux native game, well you'll have to boot up a Windows computer with steam client on it so that you can "stream" it. Sounds like a lackluster plan to me. I'm not anti linux. But I am a realist and SteamOS continues to look like a bad joke and nothing more.

It's a gaming OS. It's not meant to appeal to the majority. It certainly will have no appeal to the enterprise sector. It's not meant to replace your Windows desktop or laptop (tho in theory it could depending upon what you use your PC for). The intent is to install it on a living room PC that's hooked up to your big screen TV like a console. Secondary feature is the ability to stream games from another PC on the network (such as a Windows gaming PC) to the big screen TV for games that won't run natively (let's see your PS4 or XBone do that for PC exclusives).

If you don't see the appeal, then it's not for you. But just because YOU don't get it doesn't mean others aren't looking forward to it and see the value of such a product.

You're not a realist. You're a cynic. People like you said the same things about ChromeOS, yet Chromebooks are selling like wildfire. I personally have no interest because it doesn't fit my needs. But I can completely see the appeal to the masses who simply want to be able to surf, check email, Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even some light office work on the go.

Captain, you should change your name from Fabulous to Obvious. I think everyone here knows what SteamOS is for. So I didn't need another intro. And yet you point out the biggest flaw in the whole SteamOS feature set. The ability to stream games from a Windows gaming system. Why do we need a second computer to do what the first computer can already do and do it better? That's what I mean by it's lack of appeal to the majority of gamers. I can already hook my gaming rig to my tv if I wanted to. As for having something to surf the web, check email, etc. I think any tablet on the market now can do all of that, so I see no point in the Chromebook. I tend to eat lunch at places like Panera Bread and such and see a whole lot of laptops out and in use along with tablets. I've yet to see a Chromebook in use anywhere. Yes I know the sales for them surged this year, but that doesn't change my opinion of them. They are just a gimmicky gadget and the sudden interest in them will pass fairly quickly. I can say, after spending an hour and a half in the return line to exchange a gift for my son the day after Christmas, I witnessed more than a dozen chromebooks being returned though.

And this is why these things that are appealing to the masses do not appeal to you. You are different. Not a "special little snowflake" kind of different, more like a "judgemental asshole" kind of different. Cause y'know, everyone that bought a Chromebook and loves it because it serves their needs at a price that's right, well, they're all wrong, but you, you're right. Uh-huh. And unless you were looking over everyone's shoulders how would you even know if they were using a Chromebook? They look just like any other laptop running Chrome.

The same "gimmicky gadget" thing was said of the tablet. And look where that is now.

Open your eyes man. And stop telling kids to get off your lawn.

Not everyone wants to have their main computer hooked up to the living room TV 24/7 (I know I don't), or schlep it there whenever they want to play a game on the big screen (I also don't). Tons of people have media center PCs already in place (like me). Adding SteamOS to them, even if they are casual gamers (actually, probably even better if they are casual gamers) is a no-brainer.

It's all about flexibility and options. More is always better. I'm sorry you can't see that, but that's your problem, not Valve's or SteamOS's because there are plenty of people that are stoked about it.

So I will reiterate what I said earlier. If you have to ask why then it's not for you. Sorry. I know this may come as a shock, but not every product created is going to be targeted to you and your needs.

Where are these "masses" at? My eyes are open. You speak of options yet don't seem to realize that SteamOS and ChromeOS actually limit your options. I'm entitled to my opinion and stand by it. SteamOS is going to be a gimmick for a niche market and I happen to see little point in it when you get better performance and have better and more options by not using SteamOS. The same goes for ChromeOS. If my choice is a Chromebook for 200 bucks or another laptop for the same price, how is it beneficial to go with the Chromebook? How does it offer more options? It doesn't. It limits your options. If you happen to like it that's great. But don't sit there preaching to me about how it expands our options when it flat out doesn't. Your stuck in this modern thinking that Less is More. Less is NOT more and never will be.

You find a current gen laptop for $200 you let me know. That's the appeal of a Chromebook; that they're priced like a tablet but act like a laptop. It doesn't limit your options, because prior to a Chromebook you had either a tablet for the same price (no keyboard, small screen, mobile apps, mobile browser) or you had a laptop (twice the price). So now you have another option -- the Chromebook; feels like a laptop, more versatile than a tablet, but priced like a tablet.

Maybe you need to eat at places a bit less trendy than Panera Bread, y'know, to see real, ordinary people who don't feel obligated to prove how hip they are by using their expensive mobile devices in a trendy cafe.

Prior to SteamOS your options were to move your rig to the living room to play on the big TV with Xbox or PS4 controllers and adapters, or to build a 2nd high-powered gaming rig to use as a simple media box, which is a waste of money. SteamOS gives you options. You don't have to move your main rig. If you have a low to moderately powered media PC you can play indie and older games, or stream PC-only and more demanding titles from your PC. An OPTION you didn't have before, ever, on any OS. More options, not less.

So yes, you're entitled to your opinion, but your opinion is flawed and flat out wrong. But go ahead, stick with it. Not like I give a shit what you do. You wanna keep lugging your gaming PC back and forth to the living room, by all means, don't let me stop you.

For a guy who talks like he knows so much about technology you apparently know very little. And have absolutely no foresight. Thankfully no one is forcing you to install SteamOS. So while the rest of us will be one day using it and its dedicated controller and enjoying it you can sit back and shake your fist at us and mumble about how useless and niche it is. Funny thing is that YOU'RE the one who's a niche and you don't even realize it.

Yet your the one that keeps coming back and telling me I'm flat out wrong and have no foresight for the future. Give it a rest Fabulous. You intolerance of other people's opinions is showing in a glaring way. And yes there were a lot of laptops in the 200 to 300 range on sale this past holiday season that were far better hardware wise than the cheapo Chromebooks that were selling. And not all Chromebooks are of equal value. Google's flagship chromebook, the Pixel, will set you back a hefty $1300. The cheapest Chromebook I've seen was an Acer with a crappy dual core Celeron processor. But keep it up. Maybe you'll eventually convince yourself. Because if you weren't purely convinced, you wouldn't keep going on with this diatribe.

So I'm the one with the douchebag attitude yet you have not answered any of the questions I put forth to you. And P.S. Where the heck did I ever say anything about a high end $250 laptop? Nowhere. As for having the last word, I really don't care. I've defended my opinion with logic. You have yet to defend yours. When you can come back with something more compelling than "douchebag attitude," then this conversation might continue with some legitimacy on your part. But since you are incapable of doing that, I guess this probably will be the last word.

That being said, Here are the points I make that you have yet to be able to prove wrong.

A: Given the specs needed for SteamOS, any computer running straight out Linux or straight out Windows will be more capable, have more options thus proving that SteamOS limits your capabilities and in fact does not give you more options. So that same hardware that you paid for or put together yourself to hook up to your television will give you far more bang for the buck if you skip SteamOS and just put linux or windows on it along with the steam client itself. You get all the gaming capabilities of Steam alongside the ability to run anything else that runs on linux or windows. SteamOS LIMITS you. It does not give you more options. So no, I can't see how I'm flat out wrong here.

B: In regards to chromebooks. I never said anything about a high end laptop. I said that there were several laptops run on special this holiday season that were far more capable than the cruddy hardware in the $200 chromebook. And yes, even last generation Core i3 processors are more capable than Celeron processors. So what was that about my technical knowledge being flawed? And even once you get past the hardware specs of those low end Chromebooks, they are limited even further by the ChromeOS itself. A laptop running Linux or Windows can do everything the ChromeOS can do, do it better, and do even more. There's not even an argument to be had there. So again, tell me, if you had two laptops in front of you, one running Chrome OS with a celeron processor, and one running Windows/Linux with a Core i3 processor, which would you choose? The ChromeOS one that limits you to only using things that can run within the browser and requires an internet connection to get the most out of it? Or the Windows/Linux laptop that does not require an internet connection to get the most out of it. That can run all kinds of software. Not for nothing but I know what my money would pay for. And if you can seriously say you'd take the Chromebook, then you need to reevaluate your own logic because you are the one that's flawed. Chromebooks are a fad, just like netbooks were before. Google needs to drop the whole ChromeOS down the garbage chute where it belongs and put Android on there. THEN you would have a good deal. Now an "AndroidBook" would be expanding your options and I'd definitely buy one of those. Oh wait, I already have one. In fact I'm typing this entire comment on a laptop running Android and using the Chrome browser.

A.) Capable as what? SteamOS is a gaming OS. That's it's intent. So all that matters is how well it runs games. It's not a general all-purpose OS. So to say it limits you because it's not something it never tries to be is pretty retarded. And I guess you've never heard of dual-booting?

B.) And again, you completely miss the point. The point of Chromebooks is that they're cheap and do everything that most people need to do -- surf the web, check twitter, facebook, etc. They are not designed to be full fledged notebooks. They are small, light, fast (despite using relatively slow hardware) and cheap. Any laptop in the same price range running Windows is going to run slow as shit. So it's not about what *I* want, or what *you* want, it's about what people who aren't into computers want. Whoosh... I know, right over your head cause it's not all about YOU. And an androidbook is a pretty stupid idea, cause it's essentially a tablet with a keyboard, which btw you can already buy. The point of ChromeOS is that you're not limited to mobile apps and mobile web. It's clear you really don't understand any of this at all cause you keep repeating the same flawed argument and inaccurate statements. I've corrected you like 4 times now and you don't seem to ever get it, so honestly, I give up. Believe whatever nonsense makes you feel warm and squishy inside. The fact you're running Android on a laptop only further proves how much of an idiot you are.

As to my first point CaptainObvious, which apparently went right over your head, is that if your going to spend the money to build a computer that meets SteamOS' minimum requirements, then you might as well run a full fledged operating system and get the most out of said equipment. It's ridiculous to create a game only centric operating system for the kind of components you will need to run it. And I love how you knock running Android on a laptop. Have you actually seen ChromeOS? There are far more applications available to Android than there are available to ChromeOS right now. I don't know what world you've got your head stuck in, but clearly you need to pull it out and take a good look. Heck there's more applications available on the Microsoft Windows Store than there are for ChromeOS. And you think I'm the idiot? You really ought to give up now because you are making yourself look clearly foolish. You haven't corrected my argument, you've only made yours sound even more flawed. "not limited to mobile apps and mobile web." Chrome browser on Android can easily switch to desktop mode and becomes a full fledged browser. The office applications available are far more capable than Google docs. As for the "can do most everything people do such as check email, twitter, etc." again I can do all that on my phone already. You have yet to make any compelling argument FOR Chromebook OR SteamOS. And sorry, I value my money. If my choice was even between a 200 dollar Chromebook or a Windows based laptop for even 300 or more dollars more, then the choice is obvious. I'd rather not waste 200 dollars on a piece of garbage with limited use when I can put that towards something that will get years of use and is far more capable and not limited by nature. And now I leave you with those thoughts and will no longer continue bothering to discuss this with you. Once a person starts in with the name calling, I'm done. Have a good New Year Captain Obvious and try not to make yourself look any more foolish than you already have.

OMG, davelray! Reading the back-and-forth rhetoric from you and CaptainBagofSteam was cracking me up to no end. But alas, in the end you were correct. SteamOS is total garbage and is just not the right answer. Having a second gaming system will a full legitimate operating system is the only way to go if you really must play PC games on your TV. You have to understand that CaptainBagofSteam is a non-conformist. He will hate anything and everything that is NOT meant for the general consumer - period. This is a.k.a. "close-minded". I'm just glad you were around to set him straight! Job well done.

I can only assume this is sarcasm, as I have never seen anyone so blissfully unaware at how they've been utterly destroyed over and over again. If you can say he davelray "won" that argument-*IF* you can say it at all, which would be difficult for me-it would only be because he moved the goal post.

Once again another fruitless argument had with a negative nancy who can't use his/her brain. If you people are so smart, and it's so *obvious* that SteamOS is absolutely useless, WHY does it exist? Why did a hugely successful company waste tons of money on something absolutely utterly useless? If it's so obvious, why didn't they pick up on that? Why aren't you hugely successful owners of technology companies if you have such an intuitive instinct in the field?

Captain, if they can't see logic after one or two comments, it's almost universally better to give it up at that point, as entertaining as this was.

The better question is why would you sign up to do nothing more than back the Captain's opinion when it's quite obvious that davelray made excellent arguments for the impending failure of SteamOS? I think the obvious answer to that question is your nothing more than a strawman account for the Captain. But since the Captain and davelray are obviously done, I'll be happy to answer your question. Why would Valve waste time and money on SteamOS? Because it's actually not costing them as much as you think it's costing them and it's garnering lots of attention, which Gabe Newell is well known for being an attention whore. And as for why Captain and davelray aren't successful business owners? Not everyone can do that, but everyone can have an opinion. In this case I tend to side with davelray for the simple fact that in it's current form, SteamOS has no real appeal. But, it is after all, still in beta. So let's wait and see what the final release requirements and capabilities are before we pass final judgement on it. And even then, let's see what a official Valve SteamBox will cost. Because if they can't bring it in under what the PS4 and the X Box One cost, then it will see little success I predict.

Oh and by the by, sojibby, under the classic rules of the debate, once one party resorts to name calling or profanity, they have instantly lost the argument.

I noticed that it says "any AMD or Intel processor", but given the quality of games on Linux's version of Steam, any modern VIA proc should be able to handle the X86 code. Is it that VIA is hipster-level obscure, and thus isn't worth mentioning, or is there some legitimate instruction set issues that would prevent installation?

I ask because my home server is on VIA and would make a great testbed.

Well VIA x86 processors really aren't known for their speed -- they're designed to compete with Intel Atom chips in the low-power small-form factor arena. And we are talking about playing games here. So even if the OS actually runs I'm not sure you're going to be able to play many games.

That's what i meant by mentioning the quality of games on Linux. VIA chips have been demoed running some moderately CPU-intensive games with capable GPUs, so for the most part, I would expect them to be able to play most everything available at this point, although they aren't very future-proof.